Unlock the Potential of Self-Service Visual Data – Clarissa Explains it All

*Want to see SAP Lumira in the hands of an expert? Check out Clarissa Dold’s product demonstration here.*

Hello Data Geeks!

In our last webcast, Clarissa Dold, our resident SAP Lumira expert, showcased various capabilities of our newest data analysis solution. We received a number of excellent questions during the Q&A session and while regretfully we couldn’t get to all of them (at the time), we’re sharing the questions and responses below.

Q: Is predictive analysis an add-on for Lumira, or is it a different tool?

A: With SAP Lumira you can access multiple data sources within the same Lumira document. Click on Add to import additional data sources.

In addition, you can do a merge/append and load the data from that screen – this depends on whether the data sources either share unique values in a key column (merge) or have the same data structure (union).

Q: How would you suggest sourcing data from SAP Netweaver Business Warehouse (BW)?

Exceptions are up to now BI 4.0 UNX files connected to an OLAP data source and universes connected to the SAP BW data source.

Q: For merging two sources, how do you do that if the join must be based on more than one column in one or both of the sources (NAME and CITY)?

A: With SAP Lumira you can merge datasets based on the compatibility with a single key column (Join) – available on both of the datasets. Merging based on more than 1 column (composite key join) is currently not possible.

Q: Is it possible to connect Lumira to ECC?

A: With SAP Lumira SP11 you can connect directly to SAP ERP data sources, see below for details:

Q: Does Lumira need a model behind? or data source must be ready to build a report?

A: SAP Lumira provides you with a predefined set of charts that can be used once the data was loaded that’s required for the analysis.

You can load a single data source or multiple which can be merged (share unique key column), appended (same data structure), or used completely independent from each other inside the same Lumira document. SAP Lumira uses a Sybase IQ database that is

running on your local machine.

On top of that you can transform the data using either the Manipulation Tool Pane or the function builder on top of the data view.

So to get started no additional model is required to use this tool.

Q: Besides being client tool and ability to merge local data, how is Lumira different from Explorer and Predictive Analysis?

A: Lumira is similar to Explorer but provides enhanced flexibility for users since it allows them to directly access data without the need to prep the data through an InfoSpace as well as a larger range of charts. With Lumira SP11 you can even add your own custom charts.

Predictive Analysis is a separate product offering which focuses on the forecasting but fully integrates the Lumira functionality to prepare and visualize the data for predictions. Once that’s done you can get started applying algorithms to your data to build and train your model.

Q: How does one promote self-service analysis in a corporation?

A: Explain the benefit of self-service to IT and having less users inquire for ad-hoc / tailored reports. Business users no longer need to explain report requirements to IT and wait for turnaround which can take up to 3 weeks. IT as a result can focus on other business tasks.

Additionally as a corporation it is useful if business users are using the same tools if they are sharing the same information across departments. As an example, Lexmark is one of our customers who have their BI systems in place and added Lumira for their business users. They did a pilot phase and continued with it since experiences were very positive. They presented their experiences at SAPPHIRE NOW in Madrid last year.

Q: How does Lumira compare to SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence and Explorer?

A: Lumira is similar to Explorer but provides enhanced flexibility for users since it allows them to directly access data without the need to prepare the data through an InfoSpace as well as a larger range of charts. Also with SP11 you can even add your own custom charts.

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence is at a different level than Lumira / Explorer and provides you with enhanced functionality for reporting and can not really be compared to those self-service tools targeted specifically to the business users.

Q: There is a significant overlap in functionality between Lumira and Web Intelligence. Is SAP’s road map to replace Web Intelligence with Lumira?

A: See attached diagram below to get an understanding about the use case scenarios for each of the tools.

Q: How can you access SAP BW data with Lumira?

A: At this point in time it is unfortunately not possible to directly access BW data using Lumira. You would need to make the data available through SAP HANA using analytical or calculation views.